Volume two of the Under The Hood trade picks up with Batman #645, and we are treated to a retelling of Jason Todd’s Post-Crisis origin. It should be noted that in Todd’s brief Pre-Crisis form (made his debut early in 1983) his origin is nearly identical to Dick Grayson’s, right down being orphaned and being taking under Bruce Wayne’s wing! This retelling, as well as an incident with Captain Boomerang, is interwoven in-between Bruce and Alfred trying to determine what exactly happened, which includes finding out that Todd’s casket is empty. In a way this was done to retcon Todd’s bratty behavior as being the result of a “mean streak” and thereby explaining why Todd would be driven to where he is as The Red Hood
In order to combat The Red Hood, The Black Mask enlists the aid of Deathstroke and his Secret Society of Super Villains. Two of them, Captain Nazi and the Hyena are shown, a third, Count Vertigo surprisingly shows up in midst of the fight with Red Hood and Batman. While Batman causes Hyena to go after Count Vertigo, Red Hood kills Captain Nazi, an act that Batman berates Red Hood about.
Batman #648 starts out with Jason sending a message to Wayne Manor, one that causes Alfred to deduce that Todd somehow has The Joker held captive. While this is going on Todd as the Red Hood is busy taking on The Black Mask himself, but it turns out to be a ruse as it isn’t Todd under the mask at all! We then see Todd with a tied up Joker. Batman arrived in time to see the faux Hood revealed and offers proof to Black Mask that it isn’t the real Red Hood, after realizing where Todd is, Batman leaves to confront him.
Underscoring the climatic showdown with Batman, Todd (no Red Hood mask for the rest of the story) and Joker is the on-panel destruction by Chemo of Bludhaven, also seen in Infinite Crisis #4.
The battle that rages throughout #650 is essentially a chance to give contrasts to what Batman does, his moral code, and what Todd is doing, as well as Todd quipping about Bruce’s tactical style of fighting. In the end Bruce is able to subdue Todd before Todd can blow Joker’s head off, Joker then shoots an explosive, and we are left with Batman looking through the debris, and the fate of both Todd and Joker are unknown (as well as Nightwing’s which is discussed by both Bruce and Jason as they watch Chemo go off).
The trade wraps up with what surely should be the start of movie, a chronological account of what exactly happened to bring Jason Todd back among the living.
Batman Annual # 25, written by the same scribe, Judd Winick, as is the rest of the story, and illustrated by Shane Davis who also did #646, Doug Mahnke had done the chores on #635-639, 641, 645 (it should be noted that Tim Drake appears on the cover of #645, but only appears in a one panel group shot in issue #635 in the entire trade), 647-649, Paul Lee for # 640 and Eric Battle did #650. The story goes through Todd’s death, and the whole Superboy time wall punches, and the idea that six months after being buried, Todd was reanimated, but with severe brain damage and couldn’t say who he was. A year later Todd’s fight-or-flight instincts took over and he made an escape from the hospital that he was in and took to the streets. He was then found by Talia al Ghul, daughter of Ra’s, and both she and her father tried to nurse and train the boy (they knew exactly who he was) to health in the hopes that he’d be their protege. Exactly how this fits in with Talia’s own son Damian whom be showing up in Grant Morrison’s run soon after this was published was never mentioned.
Ra’s becomes disappointed after a year that Todd is still very much in a vegetative state and decides to cut the whole project. Talia dumps Todd into a Lazarus pit behind Ra’s back and telling the boy to run and sets things in motion for Todd’s revengeful ways against Bruce for not killing the Joker for his murder. It is shown that Todd contacts Tommy Elliot, Hush, and becomes part of the mind games war Hush is waging with Bruce. And we see that it was in fact Jason at first in the graveyard battle in Hush, only switching himself out with Clayface after seeing Bruce not having much of a reaction to a returned Jason Todd, and it ends with Todd resolved to the fact that he must confront Batman and The Joker.
Well, this is certainly an entertaining story and worthy of being shown in a movie format. Issues with Winick’s story telling abilities and what has happened with the Jason Todd character in the ensuing years aside, this was a good tale, perhaps as good as any to show why Bruce Wayne’s moral code exists and how one can be lost to the darkness of one’s goals for revenge via going well over moral lines.
That being said, the story does cause one to see the shame of what was done with the Jason Todd character since. If this had been a one-off or Batman was able to get through to Jason and get him back on the straight and narrow path, maybe things would be different for the character. In fact there was an attempt to push Todd to being less Punisher like, but Todd went right back to the “only way to fight crime is to kill criminals” approach in both Battle For The Cowl and Batman & Robin and seemingly got his butt handed to him by Dick Grayson both times leads that approach to be pretty much a one-trick-pony status.
But enough talk about how stale and broken the character has become, the movie should stand as a nice standalone piece, as most of the DC Universe animated films have, though the 75 minute running time does concern me a bit. While a good story can take place with cutting out most of the 8 issue arc with mostly throw away pieces of dialogue and whatnot, it was disconcerting with what they did with Superman/Batman: Public Enemies which both cut entire storylines but changed around elements of the story to better fit a video version narrative. Especially considering it looks like they are going to include stuff from the Annual, when quite frankly just the stuff with Batman, Red Hood, Black Mask and Joker should make a good tight movie, with allusions to other things that happen during the storyline through dialogue and whatnot.
In any event, both of the trades are nice and quick reads and a good standalone story, if you don’t think about what has gone on since!
Batman: Under the Hood-Volume 2:
Reviewed by SteveJRogers
Character Profiles Part One
The State of the Dick Grayson Batman
In this year of the Batmen, we are being treated to many different types of Batman characters portrayed by different personalities assuming different secret identities.
My attempt here is to study the dynamic behind all these portrayals and what its like to have so many Batmen being represented. In additional to our traditional characters let’s not forget that coming soon we also have a “First Wave” Batman, a Batman “Odyssey”, the Terry McGinnis Batman and the “Earth One” Batman.
But first and foremost amongst these is Dick Grayson, the reigning Batman, and secondly and certainly no less important is the once and future Batman, Bruce Wayne.
Let’s start with Dick Grayson. Has anyone else noticed that his star is on the rise? The Dick Grayson Batman seems to be on top of world and his success at being Batman is seemingly at its apex. For example let’s look at the events culminating in Batman issue #697. After suffering through the effects of Black Mask’s toxin and enduring the machinations of the Penguin and the Mad Hatter, Dick assumes the mantle of the world’s foremost detective. He even goes as far as to take a bullet to provide himself with the most essential clue to his case. Impressive.
In doing this, he then manages to assemble a team to rival no other in the DC universe and lead them to victory over the Black Mask. This team? None other than Red Robin, Robin, Man Bat, Huntress, Catwoman, Manhunter, and Batgirl amongst others. Quite a group of Gotham’s greatest luminaries and testimony to Dick’s leadership skills. And like a true leader Dick goes the final mile alone. Despite the after affects of the toxin Grayson penetrates Black Mask’s lair defeating him in an epic struggle and revealing to the world the identity of Dr. Jeremiah Arkham. It is Dick’s finest hour as Batman and is summed up by the closing soliloquy as provided by Grayson himself.
“I am not Bruce Wayne. But when lives are lost and the entire city was at stake, I did what I had to do. I did what Batman had to do. I acted as the Dark Knight. To the best of my abilities—I became him. And I succeeded not as Dick Grayson. And not as Bruce Wayne. But as Batman.”
If that doesn’t mark the moment as Dick Grayson, “Batman triumphant” I don’t know what does.
If you want more testimonials as how this new Batman is regarded how about this from Tim Drake in Red Robin issue #13. As Dick leads Damian and Tim off a rooftop he tells them, “Guys, let’s try to have some fun.” How does Red Robin reply?
“Those words coming out of Batman’s mouth. It feels good. More than that, it feels right.” “Dick has done exactly what I expected he would—put on Batman’s cowl without getting lost in the shadows.”
This is from the heir apparent to Wayne industries and the man who took on Ra’s al Ghul in Red Robin #12. And who, by the way, had to be rescued by the Grayson Batman as he was thrown out a skyscraper window by Ra’s. The Dick Grayson Batman knew where to be.
Our last testimonial comes from the hardest nut to crack of them all Damian Wayne. In Batman & Robin #10 a convalescing Damian is being “nursed” back to health by his mother, Talia. As Talia belittles Dick she says the former Boy Wonder is, “barely fit to wear his mentor’s mantle” to which Damian spits back, “Your wrong! Dick Grayson is…” and he is cut off by Talia.
High praise from the world’s most petulant 10 year old super hero. A rare glimpse to how he really feels about Dick Grayson.
So there you have it my friends, the Dick Grayson Batman a worthy successor to the Wayne Batman. And I didn’t even touch on his leadership role in the JLA where Earth’s mightiest heroes defer to this leadership. And what of Bruce Wayne? Well, as he ultimately crawls his way back through time he will be the next subject of “The Year of the Batman” character profile.
Posted by Dark Knight Dave
When I think of Azrael, I think of Micheal Lane kicking the tar outta some random thug with his duel swords, and maybe a good story to go with it. This issue fails in just about most of that criteria. Not to mention the terrible art, but moving past that lets hop into the story:
You see we open up with a badly drawn flashback of Micheal Lane asking a priest about the power of faith. Then we go to present day were an unmasked Azrael is at the mercy of The Seven Deadly Sins. They quickly turn Micheal into the raw embodiment of pure faith or the 8th deadly sin. Micheal puts on what looks like a skull mask and says that he is ready to do what the cult wants, just then an agent for Ra's Al Ghul: White Ghost breaks through the window and begins to fight with Azrael and the other seven members, but is easily taken out. White Ghost awakes on an airplane where he is told that the cult ordered Azrael to kill the Pope due to his influence surrounding faith. However, before Micheal can kill the Pope, White Ghost stops him and tries to explain the power of faith and how it is worth fighting for. Micheal denies this and proceeds to fight some more with White Ghost.
Eventually White Ghost convinces Micheal to remove the skull thus it's control over him and proceeds to talk to him about how Ra's can help Micheal. Once Micheal is free from the skull's power White Ghost convinces him that they should find his mask. So the two go and kill, no mutilate, The Seven Deadly Sins (but again the art really destroys the whole mood of it). Eventually he gets it, and places it back on. White Ghost tries one more time to try to convince Azrael to go to Ra's, but he denies and leaves stating that he still has faith.
Now on to the actual review, all I have to say about the art is: Wow, Ramon Bachs, just wow. You really know how to take a moderately interesting story and run in through the mud. None off the characters look good, as they all look like blocks of color. I mean I understand Azrael isn't you know Batman and Robin, but can't we get a decent artist to do this? On to the story, it was okay I guess. I mean he didn't really do anything cool the whole issue and I can't really accept that Azrael would just fold to the power of the cult. I mean he's suppose to be a very strong-willed individual Not, to mention the point-less flashbacks and undeveloped characters. I may be asking too much from a two- part-er, but I'd like to see at least some motivations. Overall this was a really disappointing issue.
Azrael #9:
Reviewed by Wes
Red Robin #12 marks the end of the Chris Yost run on the title, and with it, the culmination of the story he has been telling about Tim Drake since issue 1, the only question is, was the story worth telling?
To me, the answer is sadly no. What started out as a strong series about Tim Drake becoming his own man, slowly but surely turned into a book about a whiny brat not believing that his father figure was dead. It went from being not as much as a hero, as becoming annoying. The issue opens with Ra’s plan to bring down everyone Tim cares about down being foiled, as Red Robin was able to call in friends to stop the league from committing mass murder, a quick fix, but really, there was no other way for the situation to end nicely, so I’ll let that slip.
Next we have a fight between Tim and Ra’s, this is meant to be the culmination of all the work Yost has put into Tim Drake, and what does Tim have to say for himself? “I’m probably going to die.” Awesome.
This issue was a fast read, like most of the issues for this series, not a fast read in the sense that I wanted more, it was more a fast read in that I was in awe at how very little I cared about Red Robin in this comic.
My main issue with the comic, is not the issue itself, which when read alone, is a good solid issue, it is nothing special, but Yost has certainly written worse. My problem has to do with the culmination of the work. With issue 8 I said how annoyed I was at how fast Yost glossed over the issue of Red Robin facing new villains, and in this issue, he does an even sloppier job of dealing with all the plot threads he had been dangling in front of the reader since issue one. Most of which only received one panel of explanation.
My personal favorite was the conclusion as to why Tim felt that Bruce was alive, and why he has felt that way since issue 1. I am not going to spoil it here, but I will say, it felt like Yost had ended the comic a page earlier and his editor came back to him and said he forgot to explain why Tim was such a dick and believed Bruce was alive.
Bing bang boom and we have the culmination of Yost’s run on the book.
The art is serviceable one again from Marcus To, who is slowly proving himself to be a damn fine secondary artist for a second tier book, I wouldn’t want him anywhere near Batman, judging by how he draws Dick here, but Red Robin seems to given him the opportunity to shine. I will say some of the pages felt like they should have been given more room, such as the page where Red Robin is kicked out of a window by Ra’s. This one pager would have looked awesome as a two page full spread, with Ra’s on one page and Red Robin on the other, it would have been awesome. As one page, it felt cluttered.
All in all a good issue of Red Robin, marred by being paced way too quickly for the comic to breathe. Pretty soon I will be doing a retrospective of the Chris Yost era of Red Robin as a whole, which will discuss how explain how badly I hated this pay off to his run. But right now, for an average issue with nothing spectacular art, I am giving this:
Red Robin #12:
Reviewed by Suavestar
Red Robin #11 is the third part of the collision storyline, and also the 11th part of Chris Yost’s run on the character, that will culminate with issue 12 and end his tenure on the comic. The issue does its best to annoy the reader by jumping between Tam Fox and Vicki Vale and Red Robin fighting a bunch of league of assassin nobodies. All in all, what we have here is a mediocre comic.
The jumping back and forth in this issue is setting up that Ra’s is truly pissed at Tim for screwing him over a few issues ago, and his decided to take all of Gotham down, by attacking everyone Tim cares about, namely the Bat-family. Tim Drake spends the entire issue dressed up as Red Robin, and using his inner monologue boxes to bore the reader to tears and complain that “It’s all his fault” and “Batgirl has to save us” all in all, they really inspire confidence in the hero of this comic from me.
Red Robin, can you save the day? Gee, I don’t know Suave, how about you call Batgirl, she’s quite good, I’m just……Bruce is alive you know. How do you know that Red Robin? I just do. Leave me alone. Please help me.
I am really getting tired of Yost’s writing of Tim, not only has he still not explained to the reader why Tim thinks Bruce is alive, and why he’s thought that since issue #1, but he’s also making me grow to hate the character more and more each month. When this series started, Tim was supposed to be a hero in his own right, now it seems like Tim is just waiting for the days when Bruce comes back from the grave so he can go back to being regular Robin again.
The art in this issue by Marcus To is alright, but nothing special, it’s not something to buy the book for.
My main issue with this series has been with Chris Yost’s writing, and this issue is no exception. A set up issue for the finale of his storyline, and frankly, I do not care anymore, Yost has made me hate the character of Tim Drake and find him to be a whiny emo. Really, when Yost leaves this book next month, and his storyline is over, I can guarantee that the only collision that this comic will see, is from me throwing it into the bin.
Red Robin #11:
Reviewed by Suavestar
Editor's Note: Here is part two.
Red Robin #10, with the current creative team of Chris Yost, and Marcus To, is another issue in the Red Robin versus Ra's al Ghul saga. This issue picks up where Batgirl #8 left off, with Prudence on a rooftop with Red Robin and Stephanie, only now, she’s holding a gun to Stephanie, claiming she has to kill her. Tim then gives us a page of inner monologue about how it is his fault that Stephanie is in this situation and how it is his fault she is going to die. Stephanie then takes down Pru with a kick and punch combo, before it is revealed that Pru owes Tim, and how she’s here to help him.
Next up we have Alfred talking to Vicki Vale who is asking to see Tim, and how she is starting to question where he really is. It’s a boring two page scene that you won’t really care about five minutes later. This is followed up by Hush, who still looks like Bruce Wayne being kidnapped by Ra’s Al Ghul, who knows who Hush really is and wants his help. We go back to the scene of Pru, Batgirl, and Red Robin on a rooftop talking about how things have changed and what they need to do to combat Ra’s.
Next the team of Batgirl, Red Robin, and Pru go to Tim’s hideout, and try to work out what to do next, however before they can plan their next move, they are ambushed by what looks to be DC’s version of the X-Men, except they work for Ra’s and don’t look nearly as cool, or even interesting.
The issue ends with Tam, the person who Tim is meant to care about, left at the wayside outside of Wayne Manor, being told by Vicki Vale that no one is home, and how she wants to talk about Tim. Tam answers with what do you want to know, just as a sniper has their sights set to kill Tam and Vicki, and that is where this issue ends, to be continued.
Well, it’s like night and day with these books, one has great writing, but an artist who decided to phone it all in. The other has an artist who has really grown on me, and whose art I really enjoy be plagued by terrible writing.
To sum that up for you, this is yet another filler issue of Red Robin, nothing of interest happens, Tim’s inner monologue is still very depressing and makes me dislike the character a little more each time I read it, and he is just not very interesting here, most certainly not enough to justify his own comic. Take the Red Robin from Batgirl, Red Robin there, is written to be like a mini Batman, but also, he’s still written to be Tim Wayne. Here, he’s written to be an annoying emo, who every month I find myself hating more and more.
Once again, the art in this book goes from strength to strength. It is not the best art I have ever seen, but it is not necessarily the worst. Over the past few issues, To has grown more and more comfortable with drawing Red Robin and his world, and that really comes across here. It’s really just a shame that Chris Yost is writing a pretty poor comic for him to work from.
Red Robin #10:
Reviewed by Suavestar
Editor's Note: Suavestar has created a nice three-part piece of not only a review of Batgirl, but also of his normal comic Red Robin. He also commented on yesterday's announcement of Fabian Nicieza taking over writing duties on Red Robin starting in June. All of the pieces will post today with a four hour window in between. So be sure to tune in throughout the day to see all three great pieces.
Last month, Red Robin #9 ended saying that there would be a crossover issue with Batgirl next. Being an idiot, and interested in seeing how this would turn out, this afternoon I went out and picked up both Batgirl #8 and Red Robin #10. So, welcome to this one off double review from me of both Red Robin #10, and Batgirl #8. Usually Zaius reviews Batgirl on the site, but for one night only, I will also be reviewing Batgirl. So let’s begin with the first issue of the two part crossover, Batgirl #8.
Batgirl #8 is written by Bryan Q Miller, with art by “Guest Artist!” Talent Caldwell. We open with Batgirl training against machines and an inner monologue about her life and a bunch of other stuff. She is then stopped by Red Robin, who asks her why she is dressed as Batgirl, and where are Dick and Cassandra. I’m already going to stop with a continuity error. In Red Robin last month, Batgirl was seen just hanging out in the cave waiting for Red Robin, and smiling, in this issue, she’s approached by him in the middle of training. I’m not too bothered about this error, but it’s something worth noting. The issue continues with some funny back and forth between Batgirl and Red Robin, it’s a light-hearted scene about how much Stephanie has moved on and how Tim needs to respect her as Batgirl. Really, that is all this issue is about, Tim is back in town, and he has to get used to the status quo. Stephanie is Batgirl, deal with it, oh, and if you have time, stop Ra’s Al Ghul from destroying Gotham.
Next up we have Tim and Stephanie going to a charity event of some sort in Gotham and Tim showing that he is back and here to be the hero Bruce wanted him to be. The issue is fast paced, as we next up have a Stephanie/Tim team up against a few league of assassin nobodies, followed by the end of the issue where Tim finally accepts Stephanie as Batgirl, and says that he is proud of her. The issue ends with the pair being confronted by Prudence of Red Robin frame, and the line “To be continued in Red Robin #10!”
Right, problems with this comic first, well the main issue is the art, it is horribly inconsistent here. You can have good pages, like the opening scene between Red Robin and Batgirl, which looks almost like Francis Manapaul, which is never a bad thing. You can compare that to the second half of the book, where you can almost hear the artist say “Crap, this is due in two hours!” and rush through his final ten pages. The game changing point where the art gets really bad is during the scene between Oracle and Detective Nick, the scene seems to set the pace for the rest of the book, in that it is cartoony, and not very nice to look at.
The writing by Bryan Q Miller, for the most part, is great. He doesn’t create a well organized action sequence here, but what he does give us is a great character issue. You can almost see Tim slowly accept Stephanie as Batgirl in this issue, and although it was the first issue of the title I have picked up, I did not feel like I was left out of the loop.
All in all, I was very happy with this comic, and even though, it wasn’t the crossover I was expecting, seeing as Ra’s takeover and destruction of Gotham was secondary to building a new relationship between Tim and Stephanie, I was still very happy with this comic. It’s a real shame that the art let this comic down.
Batgirl #8:
Reviewed by Suavestar
Red Robin #9, written by Chris Yost, art by Marcus To, not Ramon Bachs who is on the cover of the comic as artist, but following the many screw ups in the DC office with soliciting Paul to be writing books, which he’s not actually doing, I can let that slide for now.
This issue sees Red Robin come back to Gotham, to take down Ra’s, who has now sworn to destroy everything Bruce Wayne made.The story is mixed with Red Robin getting back to grips with how Gotham works, by taking down Killer Moth, in a sequence that is the most enjoyable in the book. Tim, instead of whining about how Bruce is alive, is now just doing what I want this comic to do, be in the middle of a fight, with a second tier villain.
The rest of the comic has Tim meeting his old friends, like Conner Kent, who Tim has a heartfelt moment with, referencing a sequence in a comic that I didn’t read. That comic was Adventure Comics #4. What is Yost’s obsession with making the reader have to read other comics to understand just what Tim is talking about? I’m sure the DC editors love that Yost is doing this, but I, as a reader, am just left feeling lost.
Next we have a sequence with Tim and Ra’s, with Ra’s reminding Tim, that although you are in a boring comic that really is a filler issue at best, you still have to face the league.
Following this revelation, Tim realizes that he needs help, in the form of the bat-family, and who does he find in the cave, smiling? Stephanie Brown as Batgirl, and she says “Well, I’m not spoiler anymore tee hee…” Yes, that’s where we end this comic, with a shock ending, that was given away in solicitations three months ago.
The art in this comic, as usual with Red Robin at this point, is average at best. It does look good in places, but as with Red Robin itself, just when you start to enjoy it, the creative team pulls it away from you. The page that bothers me the most, is the final page, with Batgirl. She seems so posed on that page and is in complete contrast with what she is saying. So, overall, acceptable art, that could be better.
Chris Yost’s writing is his usual work here, it is serviceable. But like the art, it is nothing special. Red Robin seems to be that little comic that just can’t get to where it wants to go, and for that reason, I still remain disappointed with the comic.
Red Robin #9:
Reviewed by Suavestar
I always thought this panel from Detective Comics issue 700 was cool. Batman, Nightwing and Robin face off again Ra's Al Ghul and his men during LEGACY.
Posted by Josh
Red Robin #5 is the start of a new story arc in the series. Now that Tim knows Bruce is alive somewhere in the world, everything is going to be alright, and maybe we will get stability to the series. If you believed any of that, then you are as dumb as I was walking into this issue.
We open with a young girl being chased by crazy men in Brazil, the girl runs away and screams for help, and she falls into a pit full of spiders and Tim lets us know “The Brazilian wandering spider is considered the deadliest in the world” and that “One bite can be lethal to a grown man” so, to prove a point, Vitoria gets bitten three hundred and nineteen times, so it really hasn’t been her day.
Next we go back to the present and Tam Fox goes to her hotel room to find Red Robin and Prudence bleeding to death on her bed, like Vitoria, this hasn’t been a great day for Tam either, as who should show up, the league of assassins, and as Ra’s Al Ghul says “No one ever expects the Spanish inqusit….I mean league of assassins!”
Because this issue at this point jumps back between Red Robin trying to make it to the hotel room, Vitoria taking revenge on the men who caused her to die and be reborn and Tim and Tam, who sound like a horrible double act, have a conversation with the league of assassins. So, with all this jumping about, let’s start with Vitoria.
Vitoria, somehow still alive, is now a cheap Poison Ivy rip off finds the men who chased her and kills them, and then goes home to kill her mother, because she has gone crazy.
Next we have the pay off of the end of the last issue and Tim saving the life of Prudence and him by driving to the hotel and passing out in costume. Tim mentions how he just bled out here, and in a nice touch of non-continuity, he doesn’t use the blood saving method from battle from the cowl, instead Tim just bleeds out. Awesome.
Finally we have Tim being brought up to speed on the council of spiders, who Vitoria seems to be the leader of, and Tim having an idea. This idea is to not only take down the league of assassins, but the league of spiders at the same time, how he is going to do this, only Tim knows.
This issue, really felt like middle ground, like Yost was saying “Ok, Tim knows Bruce is not dead, now let’s just move on” and starts to jump ahead onto a new story. The story isn’t all that bad, it really is interesting, I just don’t like all the jumping around, we go through three time frames here, we go from Vitoria’s story, Tim making it to a hideout and Tim learning more about the council of spiders. It all feels like Yost is trying to give us background, but he could have made it so much simpler, have Tim make it to the hotel, Tam finds him, gets taken by the league and is told about Vitoria. This way, you don’t get lost in the narrative of the story; it would all read so much better. Also, I made fun of the Tim and Tam double team, but Tam could work out to be Tim’s personal Oracle or Lucius from the Nolan films, and she is a great normal person for Tim. The only problem with this is, she still hasn’t told us why she needed to bring Tim back.
The art by Ramon Bachs is annoying as usual, now instead of Tim looking fifteen and Red Robin looking like he’s in his twenty’s, now he fluctuates with Red Robin too. If you see Red Robin in the hotel room, when he passes out, he looks like he’s fifteen, but when he speaks to Tam and the league later in the issue, he looks like the normal Red Robin. Ramon is off to Azrael after this issue and for one am glad and sad to see him go. Glad as now we may get a consistent Tim and Red Robin in the comic, but sad because other than that, his art is really good and different and stands out from all the other Bat-books, which is what Red Robin needs. Ramon should have left at the end off issue 4 and let Marcus To, the new artist from issue 5 take over here, as this is the start if a new arc, but he didn’t, which is a shame, because, I like my artists to be consistent through a storyline, when this is collected it is really going to pull you out of the story.
So all in all, this is another solid issue of Red Robin, I am still interested and so will be getting the next issue, not just to review, but to also read for myself. And hopefully, that review will be out on time. My score isn’t five because the comic isn’t perfect, and the change from Tim to Red Robin and Red Robin is still annoying.
Red Robin #5:
Reviewed by Suavestar
So we continue "The Month Bat-Fans Go Broke." Last week there was a mess-up and Killing Joke was delayed last minute. It was even on the DC site as it was going to be released last week only to be changed to this week a couple of days late. So I won’t go into that comic, but it is coming out today. What else is there? Let’s see.
Batgirl #3
$2.99
The third issue makes it way into our comic pulls this week. Or does it? The first two issues were ok. They were nothing special and didn’t really give it the push that this series needed to come out. DC was going against so many fans hyped that Barbara was going to Batgirl that this series really needs to pick up the pace. We have not received very many answers since they revealed who Batgirl was. There have only been more questions conceived. This issue needs to have a little more action or a little more downtime, but not both. There seems to be too much being crammed in the issues and we are not getting enough of either. Make it all about one aspect and leave the other area for a small bit instead of spreading it thin. This week I unfortunately have to drop this one down to READ IT.
Batman #691
$2.99
This series is double shipping this month. It as almost as if DC wants us to forget the catastrophe that we have been reading in this book. It is really the only series that does not fit with the rest. And when I say that, I am including Detective Comics, which has nothing to do with Batman other than the namesake. I will admit that I am interested in Dick and Two-Face fighting. I am also interested in many other things. Some would include: When did Two-Face become a better fighter than Dick? Where is Oracle during this whole time frame while they are in the Batcave? What the heck is going on? This one, I am sure you guessed it, PASS
The Batman Chronicles Vol. 8
$14.99
This is one of the few TPB’s that I will ever suggest you pick up. The chronicles collect the first issues ever of Batman in Detective Comics, Batman, and World’s Finest. I am not going to go into detail with this one, but it is worth it. BUY IT
Detective Comics Annual #11
$4.99
Not to be outdone by it’s sister series, Detective Comics releases its own annual this week. Detective Comics has not had a annual in over ten years. The story in the annual from last week was not the best but it seems to be missing something. I think once Azrael has its own series and Fabian has the chance to build the history of the character, Azrael can succeed. The back-ups are ehhh. Little Gotham is great. Despite the problems, I am interested in seeing what will happen and am glad that ‘tec is getting an annual finally. BUY IT
Red Robin #5
$2.99
Red Robin kicks off a new arc this issue. I am interested in seeing what is to become of Tim as it seems that Ra’s is trying to recruit him. It is as if Ra’s failed with Bruce so he wants Tim. I am interested in seeing where Tim’s trek takes him on his way to find Bruce. BUY IT
Alright so that is it for this week. Other books worth checking out include numerous books that Batman and his allies will be making guest appearances in. Adventure Comics #3 features Red Robin teaming up with Superboy. Blackest Night: Batman #3 features the entire Batman Universe and will be interesting to see how things pan up. Booster Gold #25 will feature Batman and Robin. So there are plenty of books out there worth reading, even if there is not much I suggest you buy. So, ’til next time, keep reading.
Posted by Dustin
Red Robin #4 is the end of the grail story arc, and with the end of comic book story lines you do expect to get some resolve to a story. Does Red Robin follow this method? Yes and no. The best way to start this review is to recap issue 1-3 to get you up to date. Tim thinks Bruce isn’t dead, Tim meets Ra’s Al Ghul and they start a partnership, Lucius Fox’s daughter looks for Tim, Tim looks for Bruce, and the reader is left looking for the plot.
The only question this issue answers is what happened after Tim found out Dick was going to be Batman, and the answer to that is, tell Dick to leave him to prove Bruce isn’t dead, and that he needs to do this alone. Dick understands and lets Tim drive off into the sunset, and hopefully this puts an end to the flashbacks of the days after battle for the cowl.
The only real issues I have with this comic are that no questions are truly answered and that Tim and Red Robin still look like two different people, Tim in the first few pages, looks no older than a scrawny 15 year old, whereas Red Robin looks to be twice Tim’s size and build. The other is the overuse of the cuts between scenes, we have a one page scene in Berlin with Ms Fox looking for Tim, for reasons we still are not told, and maybe Chris Yost is using her as a take on the editor telling him to stop using so many cuts.
The comic goes at a fast pace and doesn’t let you take a breath. It feels like this comic was meant to be read in under five minutes, like the Flash was writing it, till you get to the scene where Red Robin is sitting in a car with Prudence, or as Red Robin in his inner monologue calls her “Pru” the soldier known as “Z” and other pointless character “Owens”. This scene is of the four teenagers sitting in a car and laughing about how Pru’s nose got broken by the demon, for saying he needed some sun. This scene felt really out of place, and like it was ripped from a teen movie, I was half expecting Tim to pull out an iPod from his belt and start to play “Smash Mouth’s All Star” while we take an overhead view of the car with the cave they are driving towards.
We end the issue with a weird out of place character from “Spiders” called “The Widower” beating up the team of misfits and killing one of them and gravely wounding the rest, including Red Robin, leaving them to lie in the desert and bleed to death. Just before this, Tim finds the cave Bruce was in at the end of Final Crisis and takes this that Bruce is still out there, how does Tim know this was Bruce, or even if it was Bruce after the events of Final Crisis? He just does, well that’s what Yost wants us to think.
The art here, just like previous issues, is solid. I am going to be sorry to see him move onto Azrael, but at the same time I won’t miss his inconsistent take between Tim Wayne and Red Robin change.
Yost’s writing is good when he is not trying to throw you all over the place, but this is just an averagely written issue. It seemed to be tying up Tim’s links to Gotham and saying “But look what we have coming in the future.” Yost had to do these two things, and he pulls it off quite well, just nothing special enough to make me say I can’t wait for next month’s issue, even if, Tim is dying from a stab wound in the desert.
So a good issue if you’re reading Red Robin already, but if you’re not already reading Red Robin, and don’t feel like reading the previous issues, then give this a miss. But if you’re reading Red Robin and you like Yost’s take on Tim, then you will enjoy this comic.
Red Robin #4:
Reviewed by Suavestar
Alright, so this week is kind of a small week because of Labor Day. But that does not mean we do not have any comics. Kind of short of things coming out, but let’s run through what we do have.
Gotham Central-Volume 2: Jokers and Madmen
$29.99
Finally, Volume 2 of one of the greatest Batman series is released. Not only are we getting work from greats such as Greg Rucka and Ed Brubaker, but in hardcover form nonetheless. Gotham Central was a series that focused around the GCPD more than Batman. It told the stories of how the police in Gotham dealt with the crazy villains. In gave an unique view into stories that were never told from that perspective. Everyone has seen Batman cart away the Joker, but how does someone who doesn’t have the training the Batman has deal with the eccentric people that plague Gotham. Now personally, I own the entire series and it is a great read. As mentioned before in past posts, I do not buy TPB’s. So this will be no exception. But my advice to you, is that if you do not own the series, you should fork out the money and BUY IT.
Red Robin #4
$2.99
I don’t want this to turn into a rant, so I will keep this short. Despite the crazy non-linear story-telling and the art that seems to change between whether or not Tim is wearing the costume, I still have to find out what is going on. I was a fan of this book since issue one, but this issue might be the breaking point. This is the final issue of the story arc and hopefully some questions get resolved. What was in the box that Tim had to steal from the museum? Why did they show the assassin being killed at the hearing in DC? Why is Ra’s so obsessed with working with Tim? It seems to me that Chris Yost is starting something that may or may not fulfill all of our questions. This book will be the last time I say BUY IT, unless we get some answers.
So despite being a smaller week for releases, there are still things worth picking up. Some other things worth reading if you need more to read are Wednesday Comics #10 and Blackest Night: Batman #2. If you have not been following Dark Knight Dave’s posts about Batman and Blackest Night, well simply put, you should be. Another book that I have found myself reading month after month is Secret Six. Gail Simone knows how to get people interested. Ever since the crossover issue back in May, I have been hooked. So take this week to check out some of the other books out in the DC Universe. And remember, go support your local comic shop.
Posted by Dustin
The issue opens with Tim as Red Robin going through a museum in Berlin with Red Robin looking for some artifact while having a chat with Ra’s al Ghul, who Tim is now in an unlikely partnership with to find out what really happened to Bruce Wayne. We then cut to Wayne Tower in Moscow with the daughter of Lucius Fox being told to look for Tim Wayne for reasons that are never truly explained. We cut back to the present and Tim and his new allies, the league of assasins taking on the museum security and a German "Maxi Zeus" called the Wild Huntsmen. This part of the story ends with Red Robin finding out Ra’s sent the assassins to help with the mission and to kill people who get in the way. When Red Robin finds this out, he screams at Ra’s to call off his soldiers who are then disappear leaving Tim to clean up the mess. While this is going on we get a flashback of what happened a few days after the events of battle for the cowl and Tim visiting Bruce’s grave, with Tim repeating that he is now alone, only to be told he’s not by Wonder Girl. Cassie tells Tim that she is there for him if he ever needs anyone. Tim begins to open up to her about the problems he’s faced such as Anarky as Robin, causing the death of Anarky’s family, letting Jason Todd loose to go on his Batman fueled killing spree and being taken over by Darkseid during the events of Final Crisis. Cassie tells Tim that she’s here for him, to whom Tim lets her in on his secret “Batman is alive.” When Cassie tries to talk sense into him, Tim says goodbye to her and walks off. Cassie starts to cry and calls the only person she thinks can get through to Tim, that person being Dick Grayson.
This is another solid issue from Chris Yost, though it doesn’t advance the story as much as the first two issues, it does move it along and makes for an interesting issue, the scene between Cassie, Wonder Girl and Tim is almost heartbreaking. The story as a whole flies back and forth at a good speed, and leaves you wondering where you will end up next, Tim’s past before he becomes Red Robin, The Fox’s looking for Tim Wayne around the world, and Tim and Ra’s al Ghul trying to find the truth behind Bruce’s apparent death, it feels like a film and is never boring to read.
The art again, like the last two issues is solid, it is nothing that you would go out and pick up this comic for on its own, but it is solid art for the comic. In previous reviews I complained about Tim looking like he was fourteen years old and this will be no different, Tim looks way too young here, and compared to when he is Red Robin and is really one of the few problems I have with the art here.
So all in all, it’s an ok issue, but not something I would tell people who have never read comics to go out and read. I would say if you are looking for a good comic to read and you do like Tim Drake, Wayne whatever he wants to be known as this week, and then you can do a lot worse than read Red Robin issue #3.
Red Robin #3:
Reviewed by Suavestar
We all know that we are only about a week away from the release of Batman: Arkham Asylum. But there have been a lot of rumors surrounding which characters will in fact be in the game. Some of the characters that have been rumored have included: Maxie Zeus, Amygdala, Alfred, Blue Beetle, Catwoman, Firefly, Hugo Strange, Hush, Killer Moth, Mr. Freeze, Penguin, Ra’s al Ghul, Ratcatcher, Scarecrow, Tweedledum and Tweedledee. and Two-Face.
Now you are probably thinking to yourself, "Man, that lineup would be awesome." Well, from my perspective do not get your hopes up too fast. Out of the list above we know only know one that will be in the game for sure. That character is Scarecrow. Now Edios has not confirmed this at all, but we know he will be in the game because of the commercial that GameStop is running right now about the Scarecrow challenge map. So that is a pretty good sign that Scarecrow will be in the game. If you don’t know what I’m talking about here is the video:
Alright in the commercial, they specifically say the Scarecrow challenge map. So we can bank on him being in the game for at the very least a challenge map.
Alright so moving on to the other rumored characters. The first one I want to address is Amygdala. A lot of people first assumed that the creature we first saw in screenshots months back was in fact this character. Now since we have learned a little more about what to expect in the game and kind of bits and pieces from the storyline, we now know that venom is a factor in the game and is used on various thugs throughout the game since we have seen many different "creatures" that look like Amygdala. Some of them have face paint on their faces, and some do not. So we can assume that the character we first thought was Amygdala might not be him after all.
As for some of the other characters that have been rumored…. Wait, before I go into that, let me just say that this is all pure speculation and should not be held as truth or assumed that I have some sort if inside information when it comes to this. I don’t want someone to blow this OPINION piece out of proportion.
Some of you may have not gone too in-depth when it came to the Demo that was released, but then again that is why you have us, to do that in-depth research that you may not think of. Well, when diving into all the info that was available on the Demo, I noticed that they had the credits available for viewing. Now before you rush over to your PS3 (which i know all of you have one) I took the time to get screenshots of the English cast that was listed for the game. Here they are:
Now the first image is not as good as the second one, but it took forever to get these screenshots. You can see on the list of characters that there are only so many characters that are listed. Most of them we already knew, but it mentions Scarecrow. So he is in fact confirmed. Now if you look at the list you will notice a shortage of villains. There is no one on that list that we already did not know about besides some supporting characters. Well, besides Jack Ryder. (Wait, who is Jack Ryder? Maybe just The Creeper?)
Now my question to all of you is, if there were going to be a ton of villains that were going to make significant appearances in the game, than why aren’t there voice actors for them. If they list the voices for the supporting characters such as the Arkham guards, why not list the villains? Before you get all upset with me for ruining your hopes of a villain extravaganza, I still do believe that there will be a ton of hints and clues that will reference different villains. I just do not think we are going to see as many as we had originally thought. I might be completely off and Rocksteady and Edios knew that we Bat-fans dig very hard for info, and they purposely made sure that there were no clues as to who else we would see in the finished game.
Is this going to be a great game? Yes. Is it going to be received well by the fans? Yes. I just want to make sure that you do not get your hopes up because of all kinds of rumors floating around that your favorite obscure character is going to appear in the game. Leave any comments below, because I’m sure this will start a commotion.
Posted by Dustin